Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Dan Bates / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Paul Goertz of Marysville videotapes flood damage in a kitchen area of O'Brien's Turkey House in Arlington on Friday morning. Goertz is the "helpful brother-in-law" of owner Kerry O'Brien. Dan Bates / The Herald  (click to enlarge) O'Brien's Turkey House cook Mike Schaub (left) and pie baker Helen Blacken move items outside to be washed Friday morning. Dan Bates / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Cook Mike Schaub (left), waiter Michael Wilkes and pie baker Helen Blacken move sandbags from the front door at O'Brien's Turkey House at Island Crossing on Friday morning. Dan Bates / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Silty mud cakes coffee mugs, the floor and just about everything else from the waist down at O'Brien's Turkey House.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, January 10, 2009 The flood cleanup commences Local families and business owners report mixed results from the recent flood. By Gale Fiege Herald Writer SILVANA -- Friday was cleanup day for many people along the Stillaguamish River. Muskrat Flats, Ron Backlund's Christmas tree farm on Pioneer Highway, slowly rose from a lake that formed there by floodwaters Thursday. Some of the tiny trees will die from root rot, Backlund predicted as he and his family cleaned up debris on the property. In addition, his home's floor insulation will have to be torn out and replaced. Altogether, though, the Backlund family fared better than others, including the neighbor across the road, he said. Backlund's good friend lost many sheep to drowning and hypothermia, he said. "The water was really cold and flowing fast. It just kept coming and then it stayed here," Backlund said. "The flood of '90 was nothing compared to this." Backlund, 71, has lived on this farm all his life. The property was homesteaded by his great-grandfather in the 1870s. The story of this flood was painted on his back porch. He pointed to the line left by the flood crest. It reached about 15 inches higher than in 1990, he said. "I've lived here all my life and I never have seen it like this before," Backlund said. "We just deal with it though, because our roots go way back and I wouldn't live anyplace else." At O'Brien's Turkey House at Island Crossing, the Stillaguamish swept more than 3 feet of brown silty water through the restaurant. Owner Kerry O'Brien and his family have operated restaurants at the freeway pit stop since the mid-1960s. It's never been this bad before, O'Brien said. Coffee mugs and water glasses lay strewn on the mud-covered kitchen floor. Despite stacking sandbags at the doors and storing equipment off the floor, when the waters began rising Wednesday evening, the O'Brien family's efforts were only partially successful. "I thought I could open up again on Monday, but now I'm not so sure," O'Brien said as he surveyed the damage. Outside, the restaurant's garbage and recycling bins were upended. Nearby was the empty field where for 13 years, Dwayne Lane has fought for the opportunity to build another car dealership. Thursday marked only the second time the property has flooded since he's owned it, Lane said. Those who fought to keep the Lane property zoned for agriculture often raised concerns about flooding. Lane said that's never been a real issue. "We knew when we bought it that we would have to fill it in and comply with FEMA standards," Lane said. "We'll have to build higher than the freeway and the water won't touch those cars. I wouldn't be able to borrow the money for the project without addressing flooding." Haller Park in Arlington, a popular flood-watching spot, was mostly empty Friday except for logs and other debris littering the playground. The cleanup at the park and restoration of a dike at the intersection of Highways 9 and 530 likely will begin on Monday, Arlington's emergency management coordinator Chris Badger said. "We don't know yet how much damage the dike sustained, but we will begin our assessments next week," Badger said. John and Elisabeth Lynn pumped floodwater from the basement of their home in Arlington. They ran the pump on a generator and hoped their electricity would be back on soon. While they worked outside in the 34-degree air, their cats snuggled near the wood stove in the damp house's living room. "We probably will sell the house," John Lynn said. "I can't keep going through this. Even with help from the government, it would cost too much to raise the house up." In Stanwood, residents of Josephine Sunset Home were moved back to the retirement center downtown after two nights of camping out at Stanwood High School. They were evacuated to the school out of concern for their safety if floodwaters crossed Highway 532 and coursed through town. The cleanup around Stanwood's sewer treatment plant continued Friday. Water crept into the plant's offices, but the city's water supply was never compromised and the plant has been running without problems, Fire Chief Mike Ganz said. The real cleanup effort begins next week, he said. Stanwood weathered the flood with modest damage because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, Ganz said. "They literally made all the difference," he said. "We're breathing a lot easier. Everybody's a little tired, but we think we're out of the woods. People can come back home." Reporter Gale Fiege: gfiege@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3427. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. 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